


At Jimmy's, Anything Goes

by parkersweasley



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Zendaya (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), BAMF Michelle Jones, BAMF Peter Parker, Bartenders, College Student Peter Parker, Drinking, F/M, I repeat MENTIONS OF SEX AND MASTURBATION, Michelle Jones Needs a Hug, Michelle Jones is a Little Shit, One Shot, Peter is Spider-Man, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Prompt Fic, Protective Peter Parker, Rating May Change, Swearing, a lot more than mj, brad davis is an asshole like always, i believe in that 70's show supremacy, iron man mention, like a lot, mentions of sex and masturbation, mj overthinks, peter and mj work at a bar, peter overthinks, scarlet witch mention, seriously it's not healthy, that 70's show appreciation, they didn't go to school together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26213629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkersweasley/pseuds/parkersweasley
Summary: Peter and MJ work in the same bar, and by having the same shift and the same age, they start to become friends, and find out that they have a lot more in common than they thought. The only thing is, Peter is hiding a secret, and he has to do anything he can to hide it from her.
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	At Jimmy's, Anything Goes

**Author's Note:**

> hey everybody! so this is one of my other petermj one shots. tbh i was running out of ideas for one shots so i looked for a prompt generator and this is what came up. 
> 
> prompt: person 1 and person 2 work at the same bar. 
> 
> so thanks prompt generator for not failing me as a fanfic writer. 
> 
> lol anyway, hope you guys enjoy!! please read end notes!!
> 
> also, let's just pretend that corona was never a thing in this story. it's a happier world that way. 
> 
> p.s this story contains alcohol drinking, mentions of sex, and swearing. just so you know.

* * *

**_nothing gold can stay_ **

**_like love or lemonade_ **

**_or sun or summer days_ **

**_it's all a game to me anyway_ **

**_lana del rey — music to watch boys to_ **

* * *

**MONTH ONE: SEPTEMBER**

**WEEK ONE: MJ**

When Michelle started working at _Jimmy's Corner_ in Manhattan, she didn't expect to have a cute guy who was her age on the same shift as her, Fridays at 8pm. It was a chilly September day, the week after she had started her senior year of college at Columbia University. Since she was now out of a dorm and sharing an apartment with two roommates, she needed to find a way to pay her share of rent, so she found a job in one of the most popular bars in Manhattan. 

And now, here she was, on her first day, working as a waitress, and the cute guy standing beside her was the bartender. As she served appetizers and snacks, he served the drinks. 

When the orders had stopped for a moment, the cute bartender turned to her and started to speak. "Hi, I'm Peter," he said. "I just got this shift."

Michelle turned to him, and realized that if she wanted to know his name, she could've just looked at his name tag.

"I'm Michelle," she said, still with no name tag, because it was her first day. "But you can call me MJ. I'm new here."

"MJ? Like Michael Jackson? That's awesome," he told her. "Well, it's nice to meet you, MJ," he stood his hand out. 

"It's nice to meet you too, Peter," she shook his hand. 

He smiled at her. 

"Hi, welcome to Jimmy's Corner, what can I get you today?" MJ asked the next customer who had sat at the counter.

What she didn't notice was that Peter kept looking at her, even when she turned away from him.

* * *

**_i'm picking up good vibrations_ **

**_she's giving me excitations_ **

**_the beach boys — good vibrations_ **

* * *

**WEEK TWO: PETER**

Peter had been working at Jimmy’s for at least three months. What started as a summer job kept on going until his senior year of college at NYU began. He had finally found an apartment to live in with his best friends, Ned and Harry, after using the NYU dorms since freshman year. He had also just gotten heartbroken by Gwen, the girl he dated for a year and a half. Gwen cheated on him. And ran away with the guy to England. So there’s that. 

And no one really knew this, but he was also the worldwide famous superhero Spider-Man. The only people that knew were Ned, Harry, and his aunt May. Oh, and also Gwen. But we don’t talk about her. Never talk about her. 

When he saw MJ for the first time, he thought she looked familiar, he just couldn’t catch where he knew her from. And to be honest, it kinda bothered him. But he also wouldn’t just go up to her and be like, “hey, I know you from somewhere, wanna help me figure out from where?” It would be kinda creepy if he did that. 

Peter wasn’t the boldest person, really. It took him about 5 months to ask Gwen out, it being Harry’s plan to get them together. So he didn’t know what took over him to introduce himself to Michelle the night they met. 

Today was MJ’s second night. Peter didn’t know why, but he was excited to see her again. Maybe it was because she shared the bar counter with him. Or it was because she was the only one with the same age as him working there. Or just the fact that she was really pretty. It was one of those motives, he was almost sure. 

“How are you already in love with her?” Ned said, snapping Peter out of his thoughts. 

“I’m not in love with her, I just wanted to be nice, okay? She’s new to Jimmy’s.” 

Harry chuckled. “Try not to fall for her, Pete. She sounds like she’s way cooler than you.” 

Peter rolled his eyes at his friend. Then he realized it was already 7:32pm. He had to go soon. “Alright guys, I gotta bounce. I’ll be back at 1am again, don’t wait for me.” Peter got up from the couch and grabbed his things, then went out the door and walked two blocks to the nearest subway station that he took everyday to go to school and work. It took him about 25 minutes by subway from his apartment at East 80th Street to Jimmy’s.

Peter was lucky that he didn't have any spider business to take care of today. He didn't want to be late to work again, he had already been late once before, and his boss didn't like that. However, he always carried a watch that told him about anything happening. In that case, if his watch beeped, he would have to leave without an explanation. 

He also always had his suit in his backpack. Yes, he knew it was risky, but if his watch beeped and he had to run back home to get his suit, that would be a lot of precious time lost. So that's why he carried it with him too.

Peter was now inside the subway, sitting at the only available seat against the window. When an elderly woman got inside in the next station, Peter gave up his seat for her to sit. May had always taught him to be kind to everyone. After his parents died, she was all he had. The subway in New York City was always busy, so Peter hoped that people would at least be considerate to give up their seat for an elderly person. Spoiler alert: they weren't.

====

He arrived at work 2 minutes before his shift, walking through the back door at exactly 7:58pm. Put his stuff in his locker at 7:59pm. He thought about putting his watch in the locker too, but then decided to keep it on. Just in case something came up.

He reached the bar counter exactly at 8pm. Talk about perfect timing. MJ was already there.

"Oh, you're right on time," she said.

"What can I say, if you're late just once, the boss gets pretty angry," he responded.

She chuckled. "So, Peter," she leaned on the counter. "How long have you been working here?"

Peter sighed. "About three months. Started as a summer job, then I was 'upgraded' to regular job."

"So you know the place well?" She asked.

"Pretty much, yeah. I don't know the other employees that much though, they're all old anyway," he said. 

"Yeah, it's not too bad," she said. "I've only been here for a week though, so it might get worse," she laughed.

"It'll definitely get worse," Peter laughed.

====

"...and then I moved out of the dorm at Columbia this year, so I needed to find some way to pay my share of rent. And now, here I am," MJ said. 

"I go to NYU. My situation is the same, actually. Knowing how expensive it is to live in Manhattan, I started to earn my own cash. Rightfully so, you know."

"NYU? That's awesome! I actually wanted to go there, but I settled for Columbia instead. What's your major?" MJ asked him.

"I do computer science, with a minor in photography," he said. "You?"

"Major in journalism, minor in cinema & film studies," she replied. 

"Nice," Peter commented. "So, yeah, I was going to move in with my, uh... _ex-_ girlfriend but we broke up before it could happen, so I just decided to move in with some friends instead. She, uh, she cheated on me, so..."

"Oh, yeah. I can imagine," MJ lightly chuckled. "I've never been cheated on, but my roommate has. She said it sucks."

"It really does," he agreed. 

Peter was about to change the subject to something more light-hearted when his watch beeped. 

_No, no, no, no, no_ , he kept thinking. _Shit._

He briefly looked at his watch. It read _Fire on Lexington-34th. Four injured._

Damn all the fires and crimes in the world, he didn't want to do this now. 

"Are you okay?" MJ asked. 

He stopped looking at his watch to look at MJ. "Uh...y-yeah, I'm fine. I just have to, um, do something really quickly. I-I'll be right back," he said that and ran to his locker next to the back door and went out faster than the speed of light. He changed into his superhero clothes in a nearby alley, and made his way to Lexington Avenue. Turns out the fire came from a small market deli place, but luckily no one died. Peter couldn't really stop the fire, but he could save the people that were in danger. And that was enough for him. 

When he made sure that everybody was safe and let the firefighters take care of the mess, he was ready to go back to work. He swung his way across 5th Avenue, passed by Times Square where he saw a big tv screen that said _Spider-Man saves the day again! Local New York hero rescues four people from a fire at Lexington Avenue._ It made Peter feel overwhelmed. 

He was now in the same alley, about to change into his work uniform — when his watch beeped again.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Peter muttered under his breath. 

This time, his watch read _Robbery on Apple Savings Bank, East 81st-2nd Ave._

He definitely couldn't skip this one. 

So there he went, on his way to the other side of the goddamn city, thinking to himself: _Who the fuck would rob a bank on a Friday night? Must be some real psychopaths._

He arrived at the bank, there were 3 thieves taking money out of an ATM they had exploded or something. Really, could these thieves be any more repetitive? 

"Hey everyone. Listen, I'm kinda disappointed that you decided to do this today. There's this girl that I'm kinda into, and you guys just really messed that up. So let's get this over with, I still want to see her tonight," Peter said, before throwing a punch at one of the guys who started to walk over to him.

_Web that guy, web that other one, punch this one a couple times, headbutt this other dude..._

With his daily punching, webbing, kicking, headbutting routine now over, he picked up the money that was on the floor and safely put it back in the ATM. He then webbed all the guys to the wall and called police to let them know of their location. And now, finally, he was all set to go back to Jimmy's. 

====

He was in his work clothes again at 10:57pm. Serving drinks at the counter next to MJ was Aaron, one of the older workers at Jimmy's. When he saw Peter coming, he rolled his eyes. "You owe me one," he told Peter, returning to his place in the kitchen. 

MJ was writing a customer's order down when Peter took over as bartender again. He wanted to look at her, to see if she seemed mad. 

"Wow, that was, um...that was quite a long time," she said, after some minutes of silence. 

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, slightly chuckling to make it seem like he wasn't embarrassed. 

"It's not me you should apologize to," MJ mentioned. "It's the boss. He was mad. Said that you always do this."

At this point, he knew he was in deep shit. "Oh, okay...I'll, um...I'll talk to him then."

Peter made his way to his boss' office. He was doing something with his stress ball. 

"Jim?" Peter asked. "May I come in?"

"Please," Jim replied. "Have a seat and close the door behind you."

Peter did as told, and started to talk. "Look, I'm sorry—"

"Save it." 

Peter closed his mouth. 

"I have an insane urge to fire you right now, Peter."

Peter started to panic. 

"But I won't do that. Let me tell you why. Number one," he put one finger up. "You are the best bartender we have. You're one of the people that make this place as great as it is. Number two," he put one more finger up. "I think you'll be a lot of help to that woman I just hired. You two are the only young ones working here, and I happen to think that you and her will work well together. And three," he put another finger up. "You will have two more chances to prove that you care about this job. If you get late, or leave in the middle of your shift, or just simply don't show up for no reason, as you have done in the past, you will be fired. Sorry. That's just how it works, I don't know what to tell you. Do you understand?"

"I do," Peter nodded. 

"Great," Jim said. "You can go back now. Make me proud, kid."

Peter left Jim's office and returned to the bar counter. 

"So...how'd it go?" MJ asked. 

"I'm not fired...yet."

MJ frowned. "Aw, dammit, I was about to start celebrating."

Peter laughed. He genuinely did, more than he had laughed in weeks. And just like that, he felt less stressed. All because of the girl he claimed he was "kinda" into.

* * *

**_oh dear diary, i met a boy_ **

**_he made my dull heart light up with joy_ **

**_marina & the diamonds — bubblegum bitch_ **

* * *

**WEEK THREE: MJ**

The homework for her Arts & Culture Writing class sat untouched as a sleepy MJ took a nap in her full-sized bed. MJ was tired because her, Liz and Betty spent all night watching re-runs of _That 70's Show._ She went to school on that Friday, couldn't pay attention to anything because of how tired she was, then the minute class was over, she took the 40-minute subway ride home, opened her computer to her assignment due next Monday, and then basically passed out before she could type one sentence.

She slept for about one hour and a half, before Liz knocked on her door to ask her if she had work today. 

"Yeah, I have work," she said, still half asleep. "Why?"

"There's a party today at Flash Thompson's roof. If you were free, maybe you and Brad could go."

"Ugh, isn't Flash Thompson that kid who got famous because he's obsessed with Spider-Man?" MJ complained. 

"The one and only," Liz replied.

"You mean Flash Thompson's _dad's_ roof, right?" 

Liz chuckled. "Right," she agreed. "Oh, um, also, Brad's here."

MJ scrunched her eyebrows. "Who?"

Liz looked confused. "Brad...your boyfriend?"

And then it hit MJ. "Oh! Right. Yeah, uh...tell him to come in."

MJ didn't know how she could have forgotten that her boyfriend, who she has been dating for 3 months, was real. Maybe it was because they barely spent any time together anymore. She went to Columbia, Brad went to Pace. With the amount of workload Columbia gave, she had no time to go on cute dates with him. 

Not that he knew how to plan a cute date. 

"Hey, babe," Brad entered her room, MJ sat up on her bed so she could look at him. "Hey," she said. Brad gave her a quick kiss and sat next to her. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked. 

He laughed. "What, do I need to have a reason to see you now? I came here because I miss you," he said. 

"I miss you too," she replied. "I've just been a little busy with my new job and school just started and it's already killing me, so I haven't been able to talk to you as much, sorry."

"I mean, I did tell you to drop out, ivy leagues just give so much unnecessary shit."

She wished Brad would be more understanding and comforting rather than critical of her choices. He knew she had always wanted to go to Columbia. She thought he understood that, but perhaps she was wrong. 

She just nodded her head at another one of his critical remarks. 

"Are you okay? You look tired," he asked her. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, just, um...Liz, Betty and I stayed up all night watching _That 70's Show._ That's all. Probably not our brightest idea," she smiled, a little embarrassed. 

"You got that right," he agreed. Her smile faded. "Em, you can't do that on a school night."

She just wanted one comforting sentence. Just one. Was that too much to ask from her _boyfriend,_ for God's sake?

Instead of confronting him, she just settled for the usual: "Yeah, you're right."

Trying to change the subject so Brad didn't notice her disappointment (he never did anyway, he was always very clueless about anything going on around him), she said: "So, that party tonight at Flash's, are you going?"

His smile widened. "Hell yeah! I don't miss a party for nothing," he exclaimed.

She nodded at his expression. "Yeah, I don't think you should go."

"Why not?" He asked. 

"Because, frankly, realistically speaking, there's going to be a lot of women there, and I don't trust you enough to go alone."

"Woah, babe, you're not one of those girls that get jealous just when I look at girls, right?" He said, kind of offended. 

"Oh, no, I don't care if you look or talk to them," she reassured him. "But I do care if you hook up with them."

He rolled his eyes. "Babe, I swear, I'm not going to hook up with anybody, okay? I mean, why would I, when I have you?"

That was the first relatively "sweet" thing he had said to her in weeks.

She scoffed. "I know you cheated on your last relationship. Why wouldn't you cheat on this one?"

"I only cheated on my ex because she cheated on me first! If she stayed loyal, I wouldn't have cheated on her. I only did it so we could be even," he confidently said.

MJ didn't know what it was, but she just knew that she believed him. It made her more reassured. 

"Alright, I know that it wasn't the most mature idea, but I promise I won't do anything tonight. I only have eyes for you. I only want to be with you, I swear, from the bottom of my heart," he continued, practically begging her to let him go to that stupid party. And then he kissed her, with intensity, to let her know that he really meant it. 

She kissed him back just as intense, and then he put his hands under her t-shirt, unhooked her bra. It's clear that he wanted sex. 

MJ didn't blame him. They didn't have a very active sex life at the moment. But she wasn't really in the mood for it right now.

"Brad, hey..." She tried to say as he kissed her neck, "I'm-I'm sorry but not right now, please. Not in the mood," she said. 

He stopped. "But, baby, we...we haven't had sex since school started again."

"I know, I know. And I'll make it up to you. But I-I can't right now."

Brad just stared at her. "Okay, fine. Let me know when you wanna make it up to me, and...I'll be here," he winked. "I gotta go. See you later, babe."

"See ya."

====

It was 8:16pm. MJ was alone on the counter at Jimmy's. Peter was nowhere to be found. She didn't let herself worry about it too much. He was probably going to be here soon.

====

8:35pm. She was still alone, working as a waitress and a bartender now, apparently. Good thing she knew some things about alcoholic drinks.

====

8:47pm. Alright, she was maybe starting to worry. Just a little bit, though.

====

8:59pm. Now, she was no scientist, but she was starting to think that he was hiding something. 

She wasn't going to push him though. If it really was a secret he was hiding, she wanted to wait and see if he was going to tell her. And to see if she was right about him hiding something, obviously.

MJ remembered that she had absolutely forgotten to ask for his number. And apparently, so did him. However, she had an idea of what she could do. 

She saw an older woman leave from the kitchen. She was one of the middle-aged workers MJ didn't know much about, but she hoped the woman could possible help her. 

"Hi," MJ approached her. "I'm MJ. It's my third week working here," she said. "You are?"

"Mary. I work in the kitchen."

"It's nice to meet you, Mary. Um, I'm sorry to talk to you at the time that your shift just ended, but I just really need to know something."

"Okay, sure, dear. What do you need?"

"Since, I'm, you know, new here, do you know if there's like, a list somewhere with all of the employee's phone numbers?"

Mary smiled. "You want to call that handsome young man that works with you, right?"

MJ looked embarrassed. _How did she know?_

"Uh, y-yes, I-I want to call him," she confirmed. "You see, he, um...he hasn't shown up to work yet today, I-I just want to check up on him," she admitted. 

"That's okay, hun. I understand," Mary said, calming MJ down a little. "And don't worry, I won't tell the boss."

MJ followed Mary into the back door. Next to the door, there was a list with every employee's phone number on it. 

MJ went down the list, until she reached the "P" section -- for "Peter" -- and found his phone number. She dialed it, and he picked up on the 4th or 5th ring. 

"Hello, who is this?" He asked, almost sounding...out of breath? 

"Peter? Hi, it's MJ," she replied.

"Oh! Uh, h-h-hi, MJ," he said. "How'd you get my phone number?" He wondered, while MJ heard fighting sounds in the background. 

"Phone number list next to the backdoor. Um, listen, I'm just calling to tell you that it's been almost an hour since our shift started and you're still not here, I just wanted to know if everything's okay."

"Y-Yes," he said. "Everything..." A breath. "Is..." A punch. "Fine!" A wheeze. 

"Are you sure? You sound like you're...like, breathless or something."

"Nope! I'm totally okay!" Peter was practically yelling into the phone. 

She didn't believe that one bit. But for now, she was going to let it slide. "Uh, okay...listen, I just need you to show up soon, tonight the place is super packed, it's crazy."

"Y-Yup, I will be there," he said, while MJ heard him groan on the other side of the line. 

She hung up, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. 

====

Finally, at 9:27pm, Peter joined MJ on the bar counter. 

"A wild Peter appears," MJ joked. 

Peter seemed frustrated. MJ noticed he was worried about the boss finding out he was late once again. 

"Don't worry," she said, reading his mind. "I won't tell the boss, and the others won't either. I talked to them."

"Thank you," he said. "I really don't want to mess up after last time."

MJ still wanted to ask him what the fuck was happening during the call, but he already was so worried about getting fired that she thought it was best not to questioning him. 

She got this vibe from Peter that he would freak out if people found out he was hiding something. He would start sweating or stuttering, and sometimes try to lie, but when he tried to lie, people would see right through him, because he looked like he was a terrible liar. 

Like, just from the fact of how he was frantically yelling into the phone told her everything she needed to know about him, that he was usually kind of paranoid. A good person, but paranoid. 

"Sorry for making you wait," he said. "I know you're not supposed to serve drinks, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "I was just kind of worried when you didn't show up right away."

"I get it. It was just something urgent, it couldn't wait," he told her. 

She just smiled at him. She wouldn't let her curiosity get the best of her this time. 

====

During her 10-minute break, MJ pulled out her phone. There were a few notifications, she swiped up on the screen to check them all. 

**liz: if you need me to come pick you up after work lmk!**

**liz: i was going to go to flash's party but** **not feeling too good. wish you were here so we could simp over steven hyde :(**

MJ smiled. The amount of times her, Liz and Betty had rewatched _That 70's Show_ was not healthy. MJ replied, saying that she would take the subway home and told Liz to rest so she could feel better. 

**mom: Hey honey! Just texting you to ask you again if you're going to be able to make it to Johnny's birthday. It would mean a lot to him if you came. You know how much he loves you. Let me know before Monday please. - Mom XD**

MJ sighed. To be brutally honest, she couldn't care less about her little stepbrother's birthday party. He was turning 15, MJ knew that even he didn't give a shit about his own party, all he wanted to do was kick his parents out of the house for a couple hours and vape with his friends. But fine, she could go, maybe. She replied, saying that she would try to make it, and she begged her mom to stop using XD at the end of every message she sent. 

Swiping further, she saw a notification from the _News_ app. 

_**Spider-Man Takes On 5 Thieves Near Madison Avenue, No One Was Injured, Thieves Have Been Arrested** _

She was embarrassed to admit this, but Michelle kind of had a small crush on Spider-Man when she was in high school. She always admired how he didn't hesitate to save someone who was in danger. She didn't know what he looked like, just like everybody else, she had never seen him in action, either, only on the YouTube videos that went viral of him, and the millions of articles from _The Daily Bugle_ that hated on him, that often spoke bullshit anyway. But she still felt that he was a person who no matter what he was doing, he'd stop whatever that was, and do his job as the signature hero of New York. 

But now she knew that it was a stupid crush anyway. She was surprised that he was still kicking it though, because as far as she knew, he's been around since her freshman year of high school. And now, in her senior year of college, he still wasn't tired of saving the city everyday. There were several rumors about the red-masked hero, some said he was a university student, others said he was an old man with a magical body physique, and others thought he was a little kid, like a literal 12-year-old. Some thought he was this massive manwhore, said that he had a fling with Scarlet Witch, even though everyone knew she was dating that weird Vision dude. This superhero world MJ knew little to nothing about had the whole world invested. And naturally, rumors and assumptions were made. 

Peter joined her on her break, taking his own phone out. She kept her eyes on her phone screen. 

"Hey, uh, since you already found my number, I'm just to add you to my contact list, if that's alright. You know, in case one of us ever needs anything," Peter told her. 

"Uh, yeah, sure, you can add it,"she replied. "I'll add yours to mine too."

Peter added her to his contact list, and then his phone rang. MJ stole a quick glance, it said _Tony S._ on the caller screen. 

She noticed Peter seemed confused, but also a little scared. "Hold on, I gotta take this," he said and walked away.

The name on Peter's phone screen seemed oddly familiar. _Tony S.? Where had she seen that before?_

Could it be Tony _Stark?_ The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, as he so nicely called himself one day in 2012? The _known-all-over-the-world superhuman Iron Man?_

If it was him, how in the heavens did Peter have his number? 

Michelle was even more curious now, and she knew she shouldn't have been. She couldn't help herself sometimes. 

And then, after 3 weeks of working at _Jimmy's Corner,_ she realized that she did not know her bar counter partner at all. 

_Who are you, Peter?_

* * *

_**girl, you've got me under your spell** _

_**stop thinking like we're sober** _

**_courtship. — bad fun_ **

* * *

**WEEK FOUR: PETER**

"Yes, May, I understand," he talked to the line on the other side, pacing around his apartment. "I'm sorry I haven't been visiting. I'll come over this weekend, I promise. Okay. Bye. I love you too. Bye." He hung up the call. 

"Man, I would not want to be near your aunt when she's mad. Her food is godlike, but when she's angry? Get me out of there," Harry retorted, in response to the phone call between Peter and his aunt May. 

"She's just upset I haven't visited her since my birthday. Understandable. I'll go see her this weekend."

"How's it going with that girl at your job? Michelle?" Ned asked. 

Peter sighed. "It's, uh...it's going. I think I pretty much ruined our 'bonding' chances because of the times I had to sneak off and do Spider-Man stuff. But, she's like, super cool. I don't even know why I'm feeling this way, we've only known each other a month. It's just, I don't know, kind of weird. At least I have her phone number."

"Why haven't you called her yet?" Harry asked. 

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to seem clingy? Or desperate? Or a bother? God, I'm not sure. I want to call her, but I also don't. I'm so confused, man."

Harry shook his head. "You need to sort out your priorities, dude. You're ruining your chances with this girl. What are you going to do?” 

“I’m just going to...be myself.” 

Ned scoffed. “Peter, no one wants that.”

Peter looked offended. He was about to say something when Harry interrupted. 

“I have an idea,” he said. 

“What is it?” 

“How about...you tell her you’re Spider-Man?” 

“What? No, I can’t do that. I would never do that.” 

“Why not? Tell her, and then she won’t think you’re a bore. Just saying,” Harry remarked. 

“I don’t think she thinks I’m a bore. Last week, when I was fighting those guys at Madison, she called me to ask if I was okay. That’s gotta mean something, right?” Peter said, hopeful.

Ned snapped his fingers. “It means she thinks it’s boring without you there! That’s it!” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Thanks for pointing it out, captain obvious. Jesus, you two don’t know anything about women, and you’re both 22!” 

“And what do you know?” Ned asked. 

“More than you two, that’s for sure,” Harry retorted. “Peter, let me ask you this,” he put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Do you know when her birthday is?” 

Peter shook his head. 

“Do you know anything about her family, at all?” 

Peter said no. 

“Do you, um...know where she lives, the area?” 

He said no again. 

“That’s the problem. You have to figure those things out, and then you bring them to me, and I’ll make my move on her!” Harry joked, laughing out loud. Of course, he was the only one who thought it was funny. 

“Come on, Harry, I’m struggling here! Help me,” Peter rolled his eyes. 

“Ok, ok, ok, ok. No, but in all seriousness, you have to figure those things out. Because chances are: if she has a big family, they’re most likely going to want to meet you, and you gotta make a nice first impression. Second, you can get her a nice birthday gift. And third, which is the most important, if you know her address, and she lets you come over at a time that’s not very common for her to let guests inside, that means she’s all yours. And let her be in control, it’s her house, you know. Maybe she’ll want to bake you something. Maybe she’ll want to watch a movie with you. If it’s horror, she wants you to hold her while she’s scared of the big monster on the screen. If it’s a comedy, she wants you to laugh at the jokes she tells. If it’s sci-fi or a period drama, that means she’s very opinionated about politics and passionate about human rights,” Harry said. “Which is in no way a bad thing, being passionate about human rights, I am too, but I’m just telling you this to explain what kinds of women are out there.” 

“...Ok,” Peter said. “I’m kind of following?” 

“Let’s take Ned here as an example. We all know he’s having a casual hookup with...what’s her name again, Ned?”

"Betty,” Ned replied.

"Betty. And what are sweet Betty’s hobbies, dear Ned?” Harry asked him, one arm around Peter and the other arm around Ned. 

“Why are you speaking like a colonizer?” Ned asked. 

“Answer the question, Ned,” Harry ignored him.

"Uh...I don’t know, she likes books? She has a shitload of books in her bedroom. It’s kinda creepy actually.” 

“Reading! And do you know when Betty’s birthday is, Ned?” 

“I remember she said it was in October, I think.” 

“October! So, Ned, what you can do, since her birthday is coming up soon, you can get her another book as a birthday gift, another book to add to her creepy shitload, as you put it,” Harry said. He was probably insane. 

“I don’t think Betty would like another book, she has so many already,” Ned mentioned.

“Trust me, Ned, if she has that many books, another one won’t hurt her.”

At this point, Peter was starting to realize that maybe listening to Harry wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t do dating, he had said once before. But Peter and Ned wanted to date, so a guy whose main experience is casual hookups with random women and men really shouldn’t be giving advice about how to win a woman’s heart. 

"I don't think MJ is like that, Harry. She seems different," Peter told his best friend. 

"How different?" Harry asked. 

"I don't know, but all I know is that I'm so into her. It's still kind of awkward between us though."

"When are you not awkward when you're into someone?" Ned reminded him. 

Peter rolled his eyes, because it was true. And then suddenly, he didn't feel in the mood to stay with his roommates. So he decided to go out for a while, do some spidey stuff before his shift starts and he gets to see Michelle again. 

No one else could see it, but under his mask, Peter was smiling at the thought of seeing her again, getting to know her better. 

====

Michelle was the one who was late to work this time. It was 30 minutes past 8pm, and Peter knew that she always arrived early to _Jimmy's,_ so this was kind of worrying. He pulled his phone out. 

Should he call or text her? Is calling too much? Is texting not enough? Is it clingy, or is it caring? 

He decided to text. 

**peter: hey mj...how are you? just texting you to ask if you're okay. you've never been late to work so it's just a little concerning. let me know if you need anything. toodles!**

He put his phone back in his pocket, and then MJ appeared next to him. She seemed upset with something.

"Hi, MJ. What's wrong? I noticed you came in late," Peter told her. 

"Yeah, no shit," she snapped. 

It caught Peter off-guard. "Damn, wow, okay. I'll, uh...I'll leave you alone," he said, turning his body towards the customer who had arrived at the bar. "Welcome, what can I get you?"

====

It was his break time. He hadn't said a word to MJ since she snapped at him. He wasn't going to push it, and why did he need to? It was none of his business. 

But what if she was mad at him? He had to find a way to apologize or make it up to her. 

"Hi," he heard a voice next to him. 

It was Michelle. 

"Hi," he said back. "Listen, if you're mad at me, I'm really sorry-"

"It's not you," she reassured him. "Actually, you're like the person I'm least likely to be mad at right now."

He made a sound of relief. _Thank God,_ he thought to himself. 

"Oh, okay. Um, you can talk to me about it, if-if you want to," Peter said, not wanting to pressure her, but also wanting to be there for her. 

She smiled at him. "Thanks," a deep sigh. "It's my boyfriend. Him and I had a fight."

Hold on. Boyfriend? 

"Hmm," Peter said, trying to sound neutral. "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"So last week, he went to this party at this kid's roof, and I couldn't go since I had to come here, you know. And I got skeptical that he was going to hook up with someone because he cheated on his last relationship. Thankfully, he didn't do anything, I was grateful for that. But then he came over to my place today, and he found out that I work with a man — that man being you — and he got furious. Said that I was trying to cheat on him with you, and that I was crazy for thinking of working in a place like this, where a bunch of men come in all the time. He got super jealous. And then I told him that it didn't make sense how I let him be around a bunch of women and he can't let me be around one man, who I consider a friend — still talking about you — and then I said that we were going to continue the conversation later because I was already late to work."

When Peter didn't say anything, Michelle spoke again. 

"I'm sorry, that was a lot."

"No, you're fine, I'm just thinking. That was, um, kind of a dick move, by, uh, your boyfriend. He shouldn't have done that. Scratch that, it was a big dick move. Who does he think he is?"

She smiled at him. "Thank you for understanding," MJ leaned over and hugged him. 

Peter had to fight every muscle in his body to not kiss her forehead. Or cheek. Or lips. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug. 

MJ let go of him, and then just looked at his face. He realised she was a little taller than him. 

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," she said. 

"It's okay. I understand the reason why now."

They smiled at each other. 

====

Peter was pouring a customer a small shot of vodka, when he turned around and saw his roommate Harry sitting at the bar. 

Peter's eyes widened. "Dude! What the fuck are you doing here?"

"What, I can't come to my favorite restaurant to get my favorite drink from my favorite bartender?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "I know damn well you're not here to get a drink!"

"Can I have a strawberry martini, _please?"_ Harry asked, ignoring Peter's remarks. 

Peter glared at Harry. "Fine, as long as you pay."

"My friend works here, he'll give me a discount."

"Oh, yeah? Who's your friend?" Peter asked, playing along on the joke. 

"A very weird and confusing man who is too much of a pussy to ask his crush out, so I came here to do it for him," Harry said, finally revealing why he was at _Jimmy's._

"Don't. It's not-" Peter was about to say why when MJ came back to the counter after bringing an order to a table. 

MJ smiled at Harry. "Hi, welcome to _Jimmy's,_ can I get you anything to eat?" She asked him. 

Harry looked at Peter and then at MJ, giving her one of his killer smiles. "I'll just have mozzarella sticks, thank you."

MJ wrote it down on her notepad. "Coming right up!" She said and left the counter again.

Harry looked at Peter. "She's hot, Pete."

Peter huffed. "Well, it doesn't matter. She has a boyfriend anyway."

"Of course she has one. Because she's hot."

Peter scrunched his eyebrows. "Why didn't you tell me that she might have one? I was totally surprised."

"Why would I need to tell you?"

"Because you're the women specialist in our apartment, apparently."

"I thought it was obvious, Peter," Harry said. "Damn, Parker, and I thought you were smarter."

Peter ignored his friend's critic. "Ok, then...what should I do?"

Harry thought. "Hmm," he mumbled. "Did she tell you anything about him?"

"Well, she's fine with him hanging out with other women, but he gets mad when she talks to other guys, like me, for example," Peter explained the things MJ told him before. 

"Huh, so a toxic one. Okay. Anything else?" Harry encouraged Peter to keep going. 

"Uh, he went to a party last week, she was worried he was going to hook up with someone. He didn't, but she still has her doubts because he cheated on his last relationship, they had a fight today about that," Peter kept going. "That's all I know."

"So, based off of what you just told me, I get the feeling that she doesn't like him very much," Harry mentioned. 

"I don't know, man. I mean, couples fight and make up all the time, you remember me and Gwen."

"Jesus, Peter, the thing with Gwen was different. Have you ever felt with Gwen what you're feeling right now with this girl?" Harry asked, fed up with Peter at this point. 

He thought about the question. "No," he said. "I don't think so."

Harry snapped his fingers. "Exactly. Which means you shouldn't let her asshole boyfriend get in the way. I'm not saying you should help her cheat on him, that would be mad wrong. But what I'm saying is you have to show her why you're better than her boyfriend. Walk her home, ask about her background, show her you care about your friendship. That way, you'll be taking her out in no time," he said. 

That was the most useful piece of advice Harry had given today. 

"So, while you decide how you're gonna do that, I'm gonna take advantage of your time and I'm gonna try to make a move on her," Harry changed the subject as he saw MJ approaching the counter again. "Uh, what's her name again?" Harry asked Peter, fixing his hair. 

Peter decided to mess with him. "Her name's Marina. Good luck," he said, trying to hide his smirk. 

"Thanks, man. You're the best," he said, MJ handing him his order of mozzarella sticks. 

"Thanks, Marina," Harry said, licking his lips. "Listen, how about I take you out someday? I have discounts on most restaurants in the city, you won't even have to pay."

MJ scrunched her eyebrows. "I'm-I'm sorry, did you call me Marina?" 

Peter was listening to the conversation, trying his hardest not to laugh. 

"Yeah," Harry smiled, oblivious. 

She pointed at her chest. "It says Michelle on my nametag, asshole. You can take me out when you get my name right," MJ said with a polite smile and walked away to serve more customers. 

That was when Peter lost it. Harry frowned. 

"Not nice, Parker. You just made me lose my chance."

"Rightfully so. There's so many women in New York, and you go after the one I'm crushing on?" Peter asked, still laughing. 

"Right. Sorry. I gotta go, have a Tinder date tonight," Harry said. 

Peter snorted. Harry was such a manwhore. 

"What about your cheese sticks?" Peter asked. 

"You guys can have them. Here's 20 dollars, keep the change," Harry said, handing Peter a 20 dollar bill.

Peter shook his head at his friend. 

MJ returned to the counter. "Wait, he didn't eat his sticks?"

"No, he told us to eat it. That was my roommate, by the way," Peter told her. 

She chuckled. "Yeah, I figured as such by the way you two were talking so comfortably," she said. "I'm very observant, you know."

====

Even though Harry was a little much sometimes, he was absolutely right about Peter not being brave enough. 

Like, seriously, fighting Thanos with the Avengers was not a problem for him, but asking a girl out was more challenging than trying not to die every single day? 

He was 22 years old, for God's sake, he should at least be able to approach someone with no fear of being rejected. 

Thinking about things he could do to start talking to MJ, to find out more about her, anything, he suddenly thought of something. He just sucked it up. 

"Hey, MJ," he said. "How do you get home? You know, after our shift ends?"

"I take the subway," she said. "What about you?"

"Me too," he answered. "Listen, um, I was thinking. Since our shift kind of ends late, at, like, 1am, how about I take you home tonight? You know, as a friendly way of getting to know each other?"

"Are you sure? Where do you live?" She asked him. 

"East Village."

"Oh, me too! Yeah, sure, you can take me home as a friendly way of getting to know each other," she accepted his offer. 

Inside his head, Peter was super relieved that she didn't refuse. 

"Okay, cool! I'll-I'll, um, see you when our shift ends, then," Peter lightly chuckled. 

"See ya," she smiled.

Peter was going to take her home, and on the way there, he would ask her about anything. Showing her that he cares. Yeah. That was his plan. Things were looking up for him. 

====

They had 15 minutes until their shift ended, Peter was excited about their subway ride together. He would finally start to show his affection for her, after one month of working together. 

He was packing his things in his backpack when Michelle approached him, tapping him on the shoulder. 

"Hey, Peter," she said. 

"Hi," he smiled. 

"Um, I'm really sorry, but we're gonna have to schedule you taking me home for another day," she said. "My boyfriend is here, he came to apologize for earlier and said that he would drive me home. I'm sorry, I would've loved to take the subway with you," she told him. 

"No, it's-it's okay. Don't worry about it, I understand," he said, smiling at her, even though he felt his entire excitement going down the drain. 

"Thank you. I'll see you next week," MJ said and kissed his cheek. 

She was killing him. 

"Have a great weekend," she told him and walked out the back door. 

"You too," he said, before taking the subway by himself and falling asleep as soon as he got home. 

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Author's Note:**

> hiiiii!!! so this ended up being 7k words long LMAO. there's a lot more coming though, don't worry. the petermj fever isn't quite over yet. 
> 
> chapter 2 might be coming through next week, if im all done with college midterms. so patience, my fellow petermj fans!!!
> 
> hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter, it took me almost a month to get it the way i wanted. pls leave kudos and comment what you thought (if you want!!) 
> 
> let me know if there are any grammar mistakes, it kinda bothers me if i did haha. 
> 
> stay inside, wear a mask, REGISTER TO VOTE, drink water <3
> 
> love you all! until next week!


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